Orlando Harn began his career as a newspaper and business paper worker. In 1904 he became the advertising manager for H.J. Heinz and in 1905 began a 22-year career with the National Lead Company.
Throughout his many years in advertising, Harn was an active and influential participant in organized advertising. He was a founder and president of the Technical Publicity Association and the Association of National Advertisers. He was also a founder of the Chicago Federated Advertising Club and a director of the Advertising Federation of America from 1928 to 1938.
Perhaps Harn’s greatest contribution to advertising was his leadership of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. He was one of its key founders and served as its president from 1920 to 1927, he became the bureau’s managing director until 1939. More than any other man, he was responsible for the birth and successful growth of this bureau, which revolutionized American advertising and has served as a model for others around the world.